If I lived in Boulder, I’d be learning how to snowboard a lot better than I do now, writing from the coffee shops on Pearl Street and would definitely become a regular at sustainable local eatery and bistro, SALT, a co-creation of gastronomic delights between fine-and-fun-food enthusiasts, Bradford Heap and Kevin Kidd. Together, these two are serving up healthy fun food with ingredients they’ve happily chosen from their friends and neighbors.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of dining at SALT on a stay in Boulder. From their thoughtful seasonal menu to their hip, friendly staff, I left wishing I had another week in the city to go back for seconds! I loved SALT so much, I featured them in Garden Eat’s first-ever restaurant review. Please welcome our guest and SALT’s executive chef, Kevin Kidd. Kevin is joining us today to wax about how local, community-raised eats are becoming a main-stay in Boulder and what it means to be a part of a real movement.

Garden Eats: Hi Kevin! Thanks for dropping in at Garden Eats today! Let’s talk about how you got involved with SALT. Why SALT and not a big-chain restaurant?

Kevin Kidd: Howdy! I am a co-creator, this is the fourth restaurant I’ve done with the owner, Bradford. I helped design the kitchen, but to be honest, it is the fruition of decades of hard work Bradford has spent in the culinary industry here in Boulder, as well as in California and Europe that brought this dream to reality. He is an inspiration to me and my entire kitchen! So yes, I helped create this restaurant, but (must give) credit where credit is due!

I love being a part of SALT because I’m allowed to be creative with all the great vegetables, meats and cheeses that our neighbors produce right here in Colorado, many within Boulder county.

GE: What inspired SALT and the seasonal menu?

KK: SALT’s menu is always driven by what our local farmers and ranchers have available at the time. It is very seasonal and changes continually all year. We strive to offer high quality farm to table cuisine focusing on sustainable, organic and humanely raised ingredients in a casual approachable environment.

GE: How do you conduct your research as to what’s available sustainably and regionally?

KK: I keep a close relationship with all my local farmers, they’re regulars here at the restaurant. We often discuss when items become available, how long the grow season goes and amounts available. Whenever we have ideas about seafood dishes, we check the Monterey Bay Aquarium website to ensure all seafood is sustainably caught. We are also partnered with ranches that only produce humanely raised animals. Our beef is never-never, which means that the animal has never recieved any anti-biotics or growth hormones. We work with CAB natural, who specialize in the never-never beef.

GE: How does Salt teach people about food?

KK: We all take the food we eat very seriously here at SALT (but in an enjoyable way). It starts with the ownership wanting to only serve the food that is the best and healthiest for the clientele. It comes down to me, and I instruct my chef and cooks about the food we serve here- they always become entusiastic, just watching how I get so excited about doing new fun foods with the local organic ingredients they can find right down at the Boulder Farmer’s Market! This education goes beyond the kitchen and spreads to the front of the house as well. We take the time to teach all the waitstaff about where our food comes from, why we use it and why it’s important to support our local farmers. We then take the time to test them repeatedly to ensure the information sticks. When we have a staff that’s knowledgeable and enthusiastic, it’s easy to thus educate our customers about it, (should they care to know).

GE: Tell us something fun about the culinary cocktails and the tiny treat of the day (which excited me like a kid on Easter).

Well the cocktail element is a fun way to create your own style drink- it is as seasonal as the food menu is. We just launched the spring menu with some great feedback.

The tiny treat is a small one-bite dessert that rotates frequently. It’s a fun way to get a little sample to customers who might be too full for an entire dessert or don’t want to pay for a larger portion size. Right now we are doing a homemade candy bar with homemade peanut butter, caramel and dark chocolate.

I admit the treats are really awesome… Let’s invite one of Garden Eat’s lucky fans into SALT to try this season’s tiny treat and a coffee on me!

C H R I S T I N E Dionese, co-founder of flavor ID and Garden Eats is an integrative health & food therapy specialist, medical & food journalist. She has dedicated her career to helping others understand the science of happiness and its powerful effects on everyday human health by harnessing the power of the epigenetic landscape.
To balance the more serious side of her work, she loves to concoct, write about and connect people through food & drink. You can check out her latest work at The Chalkboard Magazine, The Fullest and Rochester's Boomtown Table. Christine lives, works and plays between Southern California & Upstate New York.

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ALL PRODUCTS THAT WE FEATURE REPRESENT SUSTAINABLE, ETHICAL LIVING IN THE MODERN WORLD AND ARE ONES WE LOVE AND REGULARLY USE. THAT BEING SAID, WE DO USE CONTENT-RELATED AFFILIATE LINKS ON OCCASION. WE MAY RECEIVE A COMMISSION ON SALES OF SOME OF THE PRODUCTS WE CHOOSE TO FEATURE.
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